Reading a plurality of codes

ABSTRACT

A code reading device for the parallel reading of a plurality of codes on a plurality of objects arranged next to one another is provided that has a camera unit having at least one camera head for recording an image of the objects, a control and evaluation unit that is configured to localize code zones of the codes in the image and to read the code information of the codes, and a display unit to present the image and to mark the read codes and/or objects having read codes, Here a hand reading unit for reading codes is provided to subsequently read codes not read by means of the camera unit and to transfer the subsequently read code information to the control and evaluation unit.

FIELD

The invention relates to a code reading device and to a method for theparallel reading of a plurality of codes on a plurality of objectsarranged next to one another.

BACKGROUND

In accordance with the EU falsified medicinal products directive2011/62/EU and the delegated regulation (EU) 2016/161, all individualpharmaceutical packs subject to prescription must be monitored fromproduction up to the end customer and must be compared with a EUdatabase to identify possible falsifications. Similar demands can alsobe found in the tobacco products directive 2014/40/EU.

The individual packs therefore have to be provided with an individualcode that includes a unique serial number. These codes have to be readon every transfer to verify the correct origin with the aid of thedatabase and thus to maintain the verification chain.

DE 20 2019 104 044 U1 describes a system of verifying and logging outmedication packaging with reference to individual serial numbersspecific to the packaging. It is here a question of how thecommunication of the code information can take place, for example,between a hospital pharmacy and a third party provider of a verificationdatabase. The actual detection of the codes, that is the code reading,is not looked at in any more detail.

WO 2019/149908 A1 describes a method of monitoring the supply chain of aproduct. Different cryptographic methods, including a blockchain, areproposed for this purpose. This approach does not utilize said EUdatabase.

To be able to verify all products on a transfer, a scan solution for thecodes is required that guarantees a reading rate of 100%. This relates,for example, to wholesalers of pharmaceutical products subject toprescription for which said EU regulations must absolutely be observed.This problem, however, occurs in general form with all serializedscanning procedures both with optical codes and, for example, with RFID.

The specific challenge comprises completely reading a plurality of codesof, for example, a box full of medicinal product packs. One possibilityis to read the individual packs or their codes one after the other usinga hand scanner. This is very laborious and exhausting work. If now inaddition not all of the codes have not been read at the end of thescanning procedure, the operator does not receive any locationinformation on any pack the scanning procedure was not successful on.There is therefore no alternative to repeating the entire scanningprocedure until the number or read codes corresponds to the number ofpacks.

Another approach comprises using a camera based code reader that recordsan image of the code and thus no longer reads it serially, but rather inparallel. This substantially simplifies the scanning procedure andadditionally opens up the possibility of presenting which codes havealready been read on a display. The system, however, then does not offerany satisfactory solution on how to deal with the unread codes. Only thepossibility is offered to repeat the parallel process for so long untilthere are no longer any unread codes. A large number of reading errorswill, however, not be able to be reproduced so that this often does notmeet its aim. The alternative remains of removing packs with unreadcodes until the remaining codes have been completely read. An individualsolution then has to be found for the remaining packs. Such a system is,for example, offered by the Strelen corporation on its internet siteunder the heading offline code verification.

Code reading systems are known that provide feedback with respect tounread codes. A hand scanner in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,137B1, for example, projects different information related to the readingprocedure or the reading result onto the code or into the proximity ofthe code. The above-described sequential manual reading could thus besimplified where required in that reading errors become immediatelyrecognizable; however, the exhaustive work of detecting all the packs byhand is not thereby dispensed with.

A reading tunnel is known from WO 2014/015058 A1 through which packagesare conveyed one after the other. Whether a code has been read on thepackage or not is displayed by light in different colors, for examplered and green, after the reading zone. The display takes place with theaid of LEDs at the side or by a projection onto the package. Such areading tunnel that processes packages after one another is slow andlaborious for the verification of a larger number of packs in comparisonwith a compact parallel reading.

SUMMARY

It is therefore the object of the invention to improve the parallelreading of a plurality of codes.

This object is satisfied by a code reading device and by a method forthe parallel reading of a plurality of codes on a plurality of objectsarranged next to one another in accordance with the respectiveindependent claim. The code reading device is configured for a parallelmass reading of also larger groups of objects having codes. A cameraunit having at least one camera head is provided for this purpose thatrecords an image of the objects with the codes. A control and evaluationunit identifies the code zones in the image and reads the codes. Adisplay unit shows the image and marks the read codes or objects, eitherdirectly, for example by a color highlighting, borders, or the like, orindirectly, for example via the indication of coordinates. The number ofread codes is preferably additionally displayed.

The invention starts from the basic idea of adding a hand reading unitfor reading codes, for example a hand scanner, that belongs to thesystem to the code reading device. The hand reading device is part ofthe code reading device in that it is physically connected thereto or inthat there is at least a wireless communication connection to itscontrol and evaluation unit. Those codes are subsequently read by meansof the hand reading unit that could not be read from the image of thecamera unit. The corresponding subsequently read code information istransmitted to the control and evaluation unit that can thus collect theread codes of both the camera unit and the hand reading unit, cancompare them with each other, and can count them.

The invention has the advantage that a reading rate of 100% can beachieved in a particularly simple and comfortable manner by the manualsubsequent reading. Since the hand reading unit is integrated in thecode device, it is always immediately available and no special steps arerequired to combine its reading results with the reading results of theparallel reading process. Dealing with unread codes within the system isnot possible at or or at most only very laboriously, as described in theintroduction, in the prior art. Either the total reading procedure isrepeated there, which is time-consuming and which in many cases onlyproduces the same error as before, or the objects having unread codeshave to be separated and treated by a separate solution.

The code reading device preferably has a plurality of camera heads, withthe control and evaluation unit preferably being configured to assemble(i.e. stitch) the image data of the camera heads into one common imageand/or to read the codes in the respective image data and to comparethem with one another. The plurality of camera heads serve to record alarger image and/or an image of higher resolution. The individual imagesof the camera heads can be merged to one image than is then treated asthe image of only one single camera head or respective codes are read inthe individual images, with the evaluation of the image also being ableto be parallelized. In other words, the detection results can becombined on the level of image data or at the latest on the level ofcode content. The overlap of the fields of view of the camera heads ispreferably larger than a code for then every code in an image zone ofthe same camera can be read and no transition regions have to beconsidered (stitching). Doubling due to reading from the images of aplurality of camera heads is recognized due to the unique serial numberof the codes.

The objects are preferably located in a conveying unit, for example in abox, on a pallet, or the like. The camera unit detects this conveyingunit from the relevant side where the codes can be recognized, inparticular from a plan view. The box is packed for this purpose, forexample, such that the top sides of the objects bearing a code faceupward.

The objects are preferably packs each having a unique code, inparticular packs for medicinal products or cigarettes. Thepharmaceutical and cigarette industries are branches in which serializedcodes play a decisive role due to EU law. The codes, for example,include the serial number and other required information for theverification in the central EU database.

The control and evaluation unit is preferably configured to recognizethe respective objects as a rectangle of detected edges and inparticular to count them. In a large number of real applications, forinstance also for packs for medicines or cigarette packs, the geometryof the objects is very simple and this can be used to implement a simplesegmentation in the image evaluation. Parallelepiped-shaped packs arerectangles disposed next to one another in the image from theperspective of the camera unit. An edge detection in the image and acombination to form rectangles can thus separate and localize theobjects. This has a plurality of advantages. On the one hand, thecontrol and evaluation unit can in this manner determine the totalnumber of detected objects itself that can then be compared with thenumber of read codes to determine whether all the codes have been reador how many codes have to be subsequently read using the hand readingdevice. On the other hand, all the objects can then be marked whosecodes have already been read or have not yet been read and this in turnsimplifies the recognition of the codes still to be subsequently readusing the hand reading unit. In principle, a complex segmentation isalternatively also conceivable without prior knowledge of the geometryof the objects; however, it is then substantially more difficult toreally separate all the objects with the required reliability. Asegmentation error would falsely result in an assumption of a readingrate of 100%.

The control and evaluation unit is preferably configured to checkwhether a subsequently read code had already been previously read. Ifthe hand reading unit transmits the code content of a further read code,this by no means automatically means that the total number of read codesis increased. The operator could have detected a code already read viathe camera unit or a previously already subsequently read code. This ischecked and recognized via the unique code information so that codeinformation transmitted by the hand reading unit relating to alreadyknown codes can be ignored and only new code information is added or thenumber of read codes is accordingly incremented. A corresponding testfor already known codes in another respect preferably also takes placefor the parallel reading via the camera unit, to intercept eithermultiple records of a plurality of camera heads, repeat recordings, or aplurality of codes applied redundantly to an object.

The control and evaluation unit is preferably configured to mark codesand/or objects with respect to which no code has yet been read. If theobjects are tightly packed as with pharmaceutical packs or cigarettepacks in a transport container, the unread codes are therefore veryeasily recognizable because the marking for a read code is missingthere. It can nevertheless be helpful to explicitly add a marking of theunread codes. Different colors are, for example, used, for instance theread codes or associated codes are marked in green and the unread codesor associated objects in red.

The control and evaluation unit is preferably configured to localizesubsequently read codes. The hand reading unit reads the code where theoperator directs it, Without any further measures, the control andevaluation unit then only experiences the code information, but not theobject or the location in the image to which this code informationbelongs. In accordance with this advantageous embodiment, thesubsequently read code is additionally associated with a specific objector location in the image. This can take place by a manual input, aseparate localization by a sensor system, or the like of the handreading unit or by additional image evaluation.

The control and evaluation unit is preferably configured to localize areading light spot produced on the objects by the hand reading unit.This is a particularly simple implementation option of localizingsubsequently read codes. If the control and evaluation unit recognizes areading light spot in the image in a close time connection and receivesthe code information relating to a read code from the hand reading unit,this code information is linked to the code or object having the readinglight spot.

The control and evaluation unit is preferably configured to mark asubsequently read code. The operator thus obtains feedback that thiscode has now been subsequently read. The marking in the image at thesubsequently read code or associated object changes, for example, forinstance from red to green, or the subsequently read code is temporarilyhighlighted by a separate distinguishable marking, for instance by afurther color, a particularly bright or thick marking or the like.

The display unit is preferably configured as a touchscreen via which thecode reading device is controlled. The display unit can therebysimultaneously satisfy the function of a control unit (HMI, humanmachine interface), with additional control elements remaining possible.The touchscreen can also be used for an alternative localization ofsubsequently read codes. The operator touches an area of the display tolink a just subsequently read code or immediately to be subsequentlyread code with this location.

The camera unit preferably has a changeable lighting unit, in particularhaving a plurality of illumination modules, with the control andevaluation unit being configured to record the objects multiple timesunder different lighting for the parallel reading of the codes, inparticular under lighting from different directions. The lighting unitis able to generate different illumination scenarios under which, wherepossible, different or more codes can be read. The intensity ofillumination and/or the direction of the lighting is/are in particularvaried for this purpose. A preferred embodiment provides positioning arespective one illumination module to the right and left of the cameraand to produce three shots when illuminating from a respective one sideor from both sides. Disadvantageous effects due to inherent glare andunderdrive and overdrive are thus compensated. The plurality of imagesare first merged, depending on the embodiment, to an image of betterquality, similar to an HDR (high dynamic range) shot, or the control andevaluation unit reads codes one after the other from a plurality ofimages or from each image, with doubling being able to be sorted outusing the serial number.

The control and evaluation unit is preferably configured for anaggregation mode in which an aggregation code is initially read and thecodes read afterward are associated with this aggregation code. Theaggregation code is preferably provided via the database or its operatorvia which the verification takes place. A plurality of verified codescan be combined under the aggregation code. Such an aggregation code is,for example, applied to a box, pallet, or other conveying unit that isthen preferably closed or sealed. As long as the objects having thecodes collected under the aggregation code remain together, it issufficient only to read and to verify the respective aggregation codeunder which all the associated codes are found as belonging together inthe database.

The code reading device preferably has an interface to a higher rankingsystem in which the read codes are verified and/or logged out. Thehigher ranking system is preferably a network or a cloud having acentral database. This database is frequently operated by a third partyprovider that verifies and logs out the codes transferred there asrequired. Verify here means that the authenticity of the code isconfirmed to preclude falsifications, while on the logging out thetransfer to the end customer has taken place where the object, forexample a medicinal product, is consumed and is at least not furthermonitored. Reference is again made to DE 20 2019 104 044 U1 named in theintroduction for further details.

The method in accordance with the invention can be further developed ina similar manner and shows similar advantages in so doing. Suchadvantageous features are described in an exemplary, but not exclusivemanner in the subordinate claims dependent on the independent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be explained in more detail in the following alsowith respect to further features and advantages by way of example withreference to embodiments and to the enclosed drawing. The Figures of thedrawing show in:

FIG. 1 an overview representation of a code reading device with a cameraunit for a parallel reading of codes and a hand reading unit forsubsequently reading a code;

FIG. 2 an exemplary camera image of a plurality of objects having codesand marking of the codes read by means of the camera unit; and

FIG. 3 the camera image in accordance with FIG. 2 now additionally witha separate marking of the codes not readable by means of the cameraunit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an overview representation of a code reading device 10. Itis configured as a complete system that provides a camera based parallelreading process to read a plurality of codes and additionally providesthe option of subsequently reading any codes not read by the parallelreading process within the complete system and thus achieving a readingrate of 100%.

The code reading device 10 has a camera unit 12 whose camera head isonly shown symbolically in FIG. 1. The camera unit 12 comprises, withoutany separate illustration, a preferably high resolution image sensor, asuitable optics, and an interface to at least the output of therespective recorded image data. If the field of view 14 of a singlecamera head is not sufficient, a plurality of camera heads can bearranged next to one another. A lighting unit that is equipped with twoillumination modules 16 a-b. at both sides in FIG. 1 is associated withthe camera unit 12. The illumination modules 16 a-b are preferablyparticularly fast with correspondingly powerful LEDs or laser diodes.

A control and evaluation unit 18 makes use of the image data of thecamera unit 12, evaluates them, and controls the illumination modules 16a-b during the recordings. Images of the camera unit 12 and evaluationresults can be presented on a display 20. The display 20 is preferablyconfigured as a touchscreen and then simultaneously serves as anoperating unit of the code reading device 10. A first zone 22 forpresenting images and a second zone 24 for control elements are, forexample, provided on the display 20.

A hand scanner 26 is furthermore connected to the control and evaluationunit 18 in a wireless or wired manner. The control and evaluation unit18 communicates with a higher ranking system, in particular with a cloud30, via an interface 28 and is thereby in contact with a database in thecloud 30. The interface 28 can be configured according to every knownstandard, for example wired or wireless, for example by WiFi or cellularradio. A box 32 is arranged in the field of view 14 of the camera unit12 and a plurality of objects 34 having optical codes 36 applied theretoare located therein. The codes 36 are serialized; they can consequentlybe uniquely identified. Additional information with respect to a packagecontent, a batch number, a date of manufacture or a date of expiry, adelivery address, and the like is also possible.

The different elements of the code reading device 10 are preferablymechanically connected to one another by a frame so that the completesystem also physically forms a unit. The camera unit 12 together withthe illumination modules 16 a-b is fastened to the frame such that thebox 32 is recorded within the depth of field zone when it is placed on asurface provided at the frame. The control and evaluation unit 18 can behidden in the frame and it is accessed via the display 20 designed as atouchscreen and/or via alternative control elements that are eachattached to the frame in an easily accessible manner. At least oneplacement station for the hand scanner 26 that also charges a wirelessdevice is preferably provided at the frame or the hand scanner 26 can beconnected by a connection line or by a holder cord that prevents thehand scanner 26 from being removed from the code reading device 10.

To now read all the codes 36 in the box 32, an image of the box with theobjects 34 located therein and the codes 36 is recorded by the cameraunit 12 as is shown by way of example in the first zone 22 of thedisplay 20. The perspective of the camera unit 12, here in the planview, and the orientation of the objects 34 in the box 32 arecoordinated with one another so that all the codes 36 are visible in theimage.

The control and evaluation unit 18 localizes the code zones with thecodes 36 by means of code image processes and reads their code content.All one-dimensional and two-dimensional code standards are conceivablehere. The camera based reading of optical codes is known per se and willnot be described in any more detail here.

In the case of a plurality of camera heads, every camera head recordsits part section of the field of view 14. These image data are thenmerged and the codes 36 are read in the common image. Alternatively,codes 36 are read from the individual images and the data are then onlycollected at the level of read code information.

A plurality of recordings are produced in preferred embodiments. It isagain alternatively conceivable to subsequently first merge the imagedata to obtain a higher quality image and to read the codes 36 thereinor already to read codes 36 in the respective images to thus ultimatelycarry out a plurality of attempts on different image data. An examplefor the detection of higher quality image data by multiple recording isHDR (high dynamic range).

Such multiple recordings are preferably produced in differentillumination scenarios in that different illumination modules 16 a-b areactivated and/or their illumination intensity is varied. An example is athree-stage illumination sequence with three shots for which first theleft illumination module 16 a, then the right illumination module 16 b,and finally both illumination modules 16 a-b are switched on. Readingerrors due to interfering reflections are thereby minimized. The numberof illumination modules 16 a-b and thus the number of possibleillumination scenarios and the order in the illumination sequence is notfixed. The illumination scenarios and multiple recordings are ratherparameterized with respect to the application.

All the codes 36 are only read in the ideal case due to the parallelreading process based on the image data of the camera unit 12. Toachieve a complete reading rate of 100%, following this the previouslyunreadable codes 36 are subsequently read by the hand scanner 26. Theoperator is here assisted by the display 20 on which, for example, thealready read codes 36 or the locations of zones recognized as an object34 or code 36 are marked in which subsequently reading has to takeplace. In addition, the number of read codes 36 and, provided thisnumber is predefined or has been determined by image evaluation, alsothe number of codes 36 present in total is displayed. Thesepossibilities will be explained in more detail below with reference toFIGS. 2 and 3.

The code information in a central database, that is here implemented inthe cloud 30 by way of example, is verified via the interface 28 and isalso logged out on transfer to the end customer. The database, inparticular a pharmaceutical or tobacco product verification platform, isoperated by a provider as a rule. The control and evaluation unit 18provides all the steps of communication required on the side of the codereading device 10. The database and the specific embodiment of thecommunication with the database are not the subject of the invention andreference is again made for this purpose, for example, to DE 20 2019 104044 U1 and to the possibilities of safeguarding by cryptography andblockchain in accordance with WO 2019/149008 A1.

FIG. 2 shows in an enlarged representation an exemplary image of the box32 such as can be presented to the operator in the first zone 22 of thedisplay 20. The codes 36 read in the parallel reading process on thebasis of the recording of the camera unit 12 are marked by a firstmarking 38, here purely by way of example by a circle, in particular ina green color. The operator can in this way immediately recognize stillunread codes 40 and can subsequently scan them with the hand scanner.

The image evaluation is restricted in this embodiment to identify codezones and to read as many codes 36 as possible. The location informationof the codes 36 read in the parallel process is therefore known to thusposition the first markings 38 at the correct positions. The objects 34themselves were not segmented, however. The unread codes 40 were,however, possibly by all means recognized as codes 36, for example, withreference to their contrast; the decoder had only subsequently failed toread the code information. It is therefore conceivable in a furtherembodiment to provide unread codes 40 with a second marking, for examplein red, to highlight even more clearly where the hand scanner 26 stillhad to be directed.

FIG. 3 again shows an exemplary image of the box 32 to explain somefurther embodiments with a display of additional information to assistthe operator in the subsequent reading. The objects 34 are segmented byimage evaluation in a variant. This has two advantages. On the one hand,the associated objects 34 can be marked as a second marking 42 forunread codes 40, for example by a border to improve the visibility. Thissecond marking 42 is also possible when, on the parallel reading attemptof a code 36, it has not even been recognized that it is a code 36 atall. For now the associated object 34 that necessarily has to bear anunread code if no code was read on it is identified by the segmentation.On the other hand, the objects 34 can now be counted in the box 32, i.e.the total number of read codes 36 to be achieved is known without priorknowledge or manual counting. The control and evaluation unit 18 thusknown when all the codes 36 have to be read and it is no longernecessary to subsequently read anything.

Since the objects 34 are as a rule parallelepiped-shaped packs ofpossibly also at least roughly known dimensions, a powerful universalobject segmentation is by no means required but would also be able to beused per se. A comparatively simple edge detection with a subsequentcombination of rectangles is rather sufficient. This reduces thecomplexity of the object segmentation and reduces the error rate sincethe objects should in particular be very reliably segmented and countedfor an automatic determination of the total number as an evaluationmeasure for a reading rate of 100%.

If the operator subsequently reads a specific previously unread code 44,the control and evaluation unit 18 can recognize whether this code 44had already been read once with reference to the unique serial code.However, it initially has no possibility of localizing the subsequentlyread code 44 within the image since the hand scanner 26 only deliversthe code content. It is, however, a substantial relief for the operatorif the subsequently read code 44 is marked as read in future or Is givena special marking 46 and this then preferably changes to a first marking38 as read.

There are several possibilities how this localization can neverthelessbe achieved. In principle, the hand scanner 26 could also deliver thisinformation by separate localization and distance measurement. Theoperator could also establish the relationship himself in that the zoneof the just subsequently read code 44 or of the code 44 subsequentlyread in the following is, for example, touched on the touchscreen of thedisplay 20. The subsequently read code 44 is particularly preferablyautomatically recognized by image evaluation. The reading light spotthat the hand scanner 26 generates on the subsequently read code 44 islocalized for this purpose. With a correspondingly tight timerelationship between the localization of the reading light spot and thetransmission of a code content from the hand scanner 26, the control andevaluation unit 18 links these two events and so recognizes the locationof the subsequently read code 44 in the image.

In a preferred further development, whole groups of codes 36 are notalways verified, but rather a plurality of codes 36 are combined under aso-called aggregation code and are compared with the database via thisaggregation code. An aggregation code is, for example, stuck onto aclosed box 32 after all the codes 36 therein have been read andverified. The total content of the box 32 can now be detected withconsiderably reduced effort via the aggregation code. The aggregationcode is provided by the database operator in the cloud 30 where the linkbetween the aggregation code to the codes 36 combined thereunder alsolater takes place.

The code device 10 can provide an aggregation mode for this purpose. Inthis respect, the aggregation code is read first, either by means of thecamera unit 12 or by means of the hand scanner 26. Codes 36 aresubsequently read using the above described method and logged onto theaggregation code.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A code reading device for the parallelreading of a plurality of codes on a plurality of objects arranged nextto one another, the code reading device comprising: a camera unit havingat least one camera head for recording an image of the objects, acontrol and evaluation unit that is configured to localize code zones ofthe codes in the image and to read the code information of the codes, adisplay unit to present the image and to mark the read codes and/orobjects having read codes, and a hand reading unit for reading codes tosubsequently read codes not read by means of the camera unit and totransfer the subsequently read code information to the control andevaluation unit, wherein the control and evaluation unit is configuredto check whether a subsequently read code had already been previouslyread.
 2. The code reading device in accordance with claim 1, that has aplurality of camera heads, with the control and evaluation unit beingconfigured to assemble the image data of the camera heads into onecommon image and/or to read the codes in the respective image data andto compare them with one another.
 3. The code reading device inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the objects are located in a conveyingunit.
 4. The code reading device in accordance with claim 1, wherein theobjects are packs each having a unique code.
 5. The code reading devicein accordance with claim 4, wherein the packs are for one of medicinalproducts and cigarettes.
 6. The code reading device in accordance withclaim 1, wherein the control and evaluation unit is configured torecognize the respective objects as a rectangle of detected edges. 7.The code reading device in accordance with claim 6, wherein the controland evaluation unit is further configured to count the respectiveobjects.
 8. The code reading device in accordance with claim 1, whereinthe control and evaluation unit is configured to mark at least one ofcodes and objects with respect to which no code has yet been read. 9.The code reading device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the controland evaluation unit is configured to localize subsequently read codes.10. The code reading device in accordance with claim 1, wherein thecontrol and evaluation unit is configured to localize a reading lightspot produced on the objects by the hand reading unit.
 11. The codereading device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the control andevaluation unit is configured to mark a subsequently read code.
 12. Thecode reading device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the display unitis configured as a touchscreen via which the code reading device iscontrolled.
 13. The code reading device in accordance with claim 1,wherein the camera unit has a changeable lighting unit, and wherein thecontrol and evaluation unit is configured to record the objects multipletimes under different lighting for the parallel reading of the codes.14. The code reading device in accordance with claim 13, wherein thechangeable lighting unit has a plurality of illumination modules. 15.The code reading device in accordance with claim 13, wherein the controland evaluation unit is configured to record the objects multiple timesunder lighting from different directions.
 16. The code reading device inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the control and evaluation unit isconfigured for an aggregation mode in which an aggregation code isinitially read and the codes read afterward are associated with thisaggregation code.
 17. The code reading device in accordance with claim1, that has an interface to a higher ranking system in which the readcodes are verified and/or logged out.
 18. A method for the parallelreading of a plurality of codes on a plurality of objects arranged nextto one another, in which method an image of the objects is recorded by acamera unit in which image code zones of the codes are localized and thecode information of the codes is read, wherein the image is presentedand the read codes and/or objects having read codes are marked, whereina determination is made whether a subsequently read code had alreadybeen previously read and wherein codes not read by means of the cameraunit are subsequently read by a hand reading unit for reading codes andthe code information read by the camera unit and by the hand readingunit is collected together.
 19. A code reading device for the parallelreading of a plurality of codes on a plurality of objects arranged nextto one another, the code reading device comprising: a camera unit havingat least one camera head for recording an image of the objects, acontrol and evaluation unit that is configured to localize code zones ofthe codes in the image and to read the code information of the codes, adisplay unit to present the image and to mark the read codes and/orobjects having read codes, and a hand reading unit for reading codes tosubsequently read codes not read by means of the camera unit and totransfer the subsequently read code information to the control andevaluation unit; and an interface to a higher ranking system in whichthe read codes are verified and/or logged out.